Created by: Gary Stahl
Appearance: Vista City game
Number of Members: 5 billion
Nature of Members: Orions, Gold and Green with Green having a slight edge in population.
Organization: Clan: There can be mobility between clans.
Government: Plutocracy/Kraterocracy: Rule by the strongest richest people. The so called Natural Order. I have a right to rule you because I can rule you. Orion records indicate this form of government has messily existed for over 5000 years. They speak snobbishly of a great empire in the past, well it is in the past.
Culture: Two primary cultures intertwines and separate. Gold and Green Orions.
Vegaris itself is reported to be wrapped in small rules. It is nearly impossible to keep the law by rising and yawning in the morning. The effect is to give enforcement cause to arrest anyone at any time. Enforcement is of course highly dependent on the color of your skin and the color of your money. Gold is preferred in both cases. BWG (Breathing while Green) is a common crime and sweeps of the cities for those committing it frequent. While the reason given is always different the true purpose is to disrupt the Greens and locate any dissent that might be lying loose. The dissent and the dissenters are then "taken care of".
Likewise the law is not respected by any level of society. The rich buy their way passed it the poor scheme and connive. Police are the most reviled of professions. Corruption is a way of life. A cop not on the take is examined for mental competence. The squeeze is the only reason to be a cop.
All this is up in the air since the Green Revolution.
Relative Influence: Minor, they are a marginal space going power.
Public or Secret?: Public
Publicly Stated Goal: Rule as the Natural Order states is my right.
Relative Wealth: One system and a small fleet (depleted) of trading and raiding ships.
Race Advantages: Something is working for them. The have been around a long time.
Special Abilities: Orions are generalists.
Race disadvantages: A tendency to believe their own line past the point of usefulness.
Relations:
- Ane Confederation -- Openly friendly, they supplied the ships that hauled out refugees. They are also openly sharing all they know of Orion culture and methods, which the House Lords did not like. "Where did they Learn so much?"
- Botchok -- House Auric is aware of the situation, and would like to take advantage of it, but the range is too great. Alas, an opportunity that will slip through his fingers.
- Earth -- Vegaris is coming up the poor sister. They got off to a rocky start in a raid on what they thought was an undefended world. The intelligence was out of date. Currently they are looking to Earth for aid in the wake of a Green revolution.
- Kentari -- Has welcomed refugees from the Revolution. They are willing to talk trade, but are watching out for raids. They recently got their own Solar Patrol.
- Teller -- Will trade all the material and experience they need to get back up. Making hay while the Orions are down.
- Vulcan -- Noting the attempted raid on Earth Vulcan has been cool. They have a better space fleet. Noting the recent breakdown of civil order the offer of a more logical approach to a society is on open.
Area of Operation: Earth Near space 20 light years away.
Headquarters Location: Di'ora, Vegaris
Public Face: Aggressive traders of wonders.
Notable Members:
- Osgui -- Former Lord of all he surveyed. Remarkable in that of the many House Lords on Vegaris he survived with a portion of his wealth intact, by running before the hammer came down. He has found out that to live the life of an Orion Lord, you have to be on an Orion world. Wealth and personality are not enough, you need the base culture to agree with you.
He is running a successful antimatter mining operation in Earth orbit in partnership with Eon Musk, and finding himself. He has courted Toni the Queen of Haiti, it has been a roller coaster ride.
- House Sofuk: Noted as the house that fomented the failed raid. Sofuk himself met a messy and disgusting end. The carcass of the House is being picked over except the few that are kissing ass and kissing it hard.
- House Sogui: They were dancing the trade dance with Earth. A bit put out by the Ane knowing the steps. This house had been feeling out the market. They managed to hold out when the balloon whet up on Vegaris. They are pulling themselves back together and seeing what is left, while warily eying the newly armed and dangerous Greens.
History of the Race: Vegaris is an Orion world, the furthermost outpost of the so called Vegan Tyranny.
It is suffering a revolution apparently started by Green Orions with access to magic that threatens to take the world out of the space going category.
The revolution seems to be over, space infrastructure is still in place, but the Golds no longer control the planet.